Holden Benon

Holden Benon joined the firm in 2023. He takes a resolute approach to his practice and is proud to represent authors and other creators in enforcing their rights.  

Holden focuses on litigating class action lawsuits the firm has brought against OpenAI, Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc., and others based on their infringement of authors’ copyrights when they allegedly made unauthorized copies of those authors’ copyrighted works to train artificial-intelligence products. 

Prior to joining the firm, Holden was an associate at an AmLaw100 law firm in San Francisco where he obtained significant experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in federal district court, state and federal appellate courts, and private arbitration. Over the past six years, his practice has focused on intellectual property enforcement and insurance coverage litigation, typically dealing with complex or cutting-edge issues including cyber/technology/media insurance, professional liability, and pandemic-related business interruption. 

Among his various accomplishments, Holden successfully litigated a plaintiff-side copyright infringement matter he brought to his firm as a second-year associate. He is the author of several published articles covering the intersection between technology and insurance. 

Holden has been a panel attorney for the Federal Pro Bono Project in the Northern District of California. He has successfully litigated various pro bono matters, including:  

• Gardner v. Reille, 2023 WL 3471454 (N.D. Cal. May 12, 2023): obtained a successful settlement for an incarcerated individual in a prison excessive force case after the court granted a motion to compel production of prison officers’ personnel files
• Rhone v. Housing Authority of City of Oakland (N.D. Cal.): represented a recipient of Section 8 housing benefits to secure a favorable resolution at a settlement conference followed by a favorable outcome on a motion to enforce settlement after the Housing Authority delayed payment

Holden has spoken at The Sedona Conference regarding artificial intelligence, as well as several insurance trade association events regarding insurance and artificial intelligence. He has held seminars for students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco about how they can protect their intellectual property rights.

During law school, Holden was an intern for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where he focused on copyright and privacy issues. In addition, Holden’s student journal note on aspects of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act was selected for publication in his law school’s business journal: "A Peek Under the Hood: Why Lawmakers Should Strengthen the Current DMCA Exemption for Security and Safety Research into Car Software," 15 Hastings Bus. L.J. 155 (2019). He was a National Best Brief Winner & Quarterfinalist for the Cultural Heritage Moot Court Competition at DePaul Law School in Chicago. His team’s winning brief was published in DePaul Law School’s Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law. 

Holden is a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group 13 on Artificial Intelligence and the Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco. He also serves as counsel for The Guardsmen, a charitable organization benefiting underserved communities in Northern California.